State officials today announced a 2-mile "community path" from Lechmere to Lowell Street, alongside the Green Line extension, will be fully complete by the time the Green Line extension opens, whenever that is (the latest estimate is 2020).

Construction is already well underway on the segment between Cedar and Lowell streets; state officials say that part of the path should be ready for use this fall.

The final cost of the walking and bicycle path is set at $39 million, half of which will be paid for with federal funds.

UPDATE: Authorities have identified the victim as a 30-year-old man from Chelsea. They have yet to publicly release his name to allow for family notification.

Ricky Prezioso, 42, of Swampscott, told police he thought he hit a pothole at the intersection of Cambridge and Spice streets while making trash pickups around 1:40 p.m. yesterday, the Suffolk County District Attorney's office reports.

UPDATE: Truck found in parking lot in industrial area along Railroad Street in Revere, towed to Boston as evidence. NECN reports the driver has also been found and is being questoned; Boston Police say no charges at this time.

A man who says a large pavement "rut" caused him to tumble off his bicycle in Brookline is plumb out of luck trying to get somebody to pay for his injuries, the Massachusetts Appeals Court ruled today.

Tom Filepp sued what is now National Grid over injuries he says he incurred in 2005 when he tumbled off his bicycle due to a two-inch gap in the pavement on Harvard Street he says was caused by work by the company.

But Filepp did not submit a claim with National Grid until three months after his accident - or two months later than the 30-day deadline for filing claims set in state law.

The Boston Cyclists Union reports DCR hopes to hold a forum on a review of the department's ice-removal policies for bicycle paths, last updated in 2006.

A DCR spokesman noted the number of bicyclists on state-owned paths, such as along the Southwest Corridor, has increased since then and that the state recognizes "the commitment" of year-round bicyclists.

A bicyclist's request that DCR ensure its bike paths are plowed and salted to bare pavement within a couple days after a large snowstorm has DCR officals saying enough's enough: Bicyclists with "poor judgement and unrealistic expectations" who can't find other ways to get around in the days after a snowstorm should consider moving to a warmer city.

UHub was forwarded a series of e-mail messages over three days between and about one bicyclist and DCR staffers, on the condition we excise names. It started with e-mail on Feb. 11 from somebody who rides to work on the Southwest Corridor:

The Boston Business Journal reports on an effort by mechanical-engineering students at Northeastern to create a sort of sensor web around a bicyclist that would alert the rider to any cars getting too close:

Laser lights are also added to the bicycle to project a bike lane onto the street, so that the cyclist knows where the bike's safe zone is. If a vehicle gets too close to the zone, the lasers - which can be seen during the day - will blink. Vibration technology on the bike will also cause the handlebars to vibrate if cyclists speed up as they approach an intersection.

After 6 months of feedback from residents, community groups, and transportation advocates, the Massachusetts Department of Transportation will provide an update on Tuesday for the Cambridge Street overpass project in Allston.

Wicked Local Brookline reports that, according to police, a visiting bicyclist from Jamaica Plain got upset at a motorist going around him on Washington Street, apparently because he was riding in the middle of the street to avoid just that sort of thing, so he caught up with her at a light and smashed her windshield with his bike lock. Police then arrested him.

A Roslindale resident reports on an incident involving his wife and a guy in a car around 3 p.m. yesterday:

My wife was riding her bicycle home and an angry motorist punched her in the face. This happed at Hyde Park Ave and Ukraine. She reported it to the police, including the vehicle plate number, and she is now resting with an ice pack on her lip.

When she stopped at light, he got out of his car, came up from behind and slugged her; she did not see it coming. MA plate # 62MD34, small silver car.
Assailant was passenger in car with woman driver. Hopefully, with the info she provided to the police, they will get catch this coward.